Little Compton Street, London

Under a traffic island in on a busy road next to London’s Soho district is perhaps not the most obvious place to look for magic. But strange things can be found in the most unexpected places.

A traffic island on London’s Charing Cross Road

Back in Victorian times, Little Compton Street was a bustling lane which joined Old and New Compton Streets. In 1896, however, the area was largely demolished to make way for Charing Cross Road, and the street level was raised. If you look carefully, however, you can find an intriguing remnant of Old London right beneath your feet. Below the unassuming grate in the middle of Charing Cross Road can be seen a wall still bearing not one, but two street signs for the now-buried Little Compton Street.

The underground street signs for Little Compton Street

Not quite a secret street perhaps, but this is still a rather magical remnant of London’s fascinating past, and one which most people pass over without ever even knowing it’s there.

13 Responses to “Little Compton Street, London”

Seattle, Washington raised many of its streets’ grade levels over a century ago. Amusingly, I found out about this from watching a 1970s horror movie, “The Night Strangler.” I’ve since actually been there and done a tour of some of the lost street level city.

Sounds fascinating. Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh is another rather magical ‘buried’ street which can now be visited. Little Compton Street is rather, well little in comparison, but still rather intriguing.